The Year She Stopped Being Crazy for Him novel Chapter 71

It wasn't until insiders from the Kingswood Arts Center started leaking the truth in the comments that the tide began to turn.

"This was Natalie's final performance."

"She was actually pushed out of the Arts Center before this. She wasn't even supposed to be on stage today. She only came back to fill in because of a sudden emergency."

"Why would they do that? She dances so beautifully, and her face and figure are absolutely stunning."

When Natalie reached the climax of her routine, slowly moving the vibrant prop flower away from her face, the director had cut to a close-up. It revealed a face tailor-made for the screen, breathtakingly gorgeous, leaving the entire audience in awe.

Someone in the comments dropped another bombshell: "The person who replaced Natalie was that 'special' dancer. Word is, the investors gave a direct order."

"Holy shit. You don't mean Gardenia, do you? I just saw a post about her on a gossip page and it moved me to tears. Didn't they say she earned her spot through sheer talent?"

"I knew it! There was no way they'd let a disabled person perform a piece like this when so many healthy dancers get cut every year. I commented that she must have connections, and a bunch of trolls tore me to shreds."

"It's okay, you can finally feel vindicated now."

The internet's sleuthing abilities were terrifyingly efficient. Soon, screenshots from the Arts Center's internal group chats were exposed.

Overnight, public opinion on Gardenia took a massive nosedive.

Then, someone else dug up the fact that Gardenia had been parachuted directly into the role of core project lead at the Carlson Group.

The public was furious. Sure, Gardenia had a master's degree from a top-tier global university, but she had a four-year gap on her resume. Countless brilliant graduates from elite colleges couldn't even snag an internship at the Carlson Group, yet she was handed a core leadership position right out of the gate?

Furious netizens flooded the Carlson Group's official social media accounts, spamming the comments.

The company's PR department scrambled to issue a clarification. It was full of clichés, attempting to deflect the issue and play the victim card by emphasizing Gardenia's disability. They tried to gaslight the public, claiming that criticizing her was tantamount to cyberbullying a disabled person whose life was already incredibly difficult, urging everyone to let it go.

The internet wasn't buying it. They didn't care who she was—since when was life easy for anyone?

Meanwhile, Natalie hadn't paid any attention to the drama after stepping off the stage. She had gone straight to the lab.

When Cecily called, she was still immersed in her work.

Not wanting to break her focus, she waited until she finished her current task before picking up her phone to call back.

Cecily's voice on the other end was laced with obvious anger. "Go online and issue a clarification right now. Do you have any idea that because of you, everyone is boycotting Gardenia? We haven't found a better candidate for the project yet, so we cannot replace her."

She checked the online discourse again. It had escalated significantly, even hitting the top trending spots with hashtags demanding that "nepotism hires get out."

Many ordinary people felt they saw their own struggles reflected in the injustice.

After a moment of thought, Natalie agreed to Hassan's terms. She texted back, telling him to process the property transfer first—only then would she issue the statement.

It didn't take long for him to send her the confirmation documents. The deed would be waiting for her when she returned to Sycamore Quays.

Natalie logged into her long-dormant social media account.

She had created it when she first joined the Arts Center. It was strictly professional, devoid of any personal life updates.

Previously, she only had about a hundred thousand followers. After today's explosive drama, that number had skyrocketed to over a million.

She typed out a draft and hit post.

*"Hi everyone, this is Natalie. I'd like to clarify something once more. Gardenia did not use connections to get her spot. I prepared for this performance for months, but just a week before opening night, while I was in the rehearsal room, the head director told me not to bother coming in anymore. He said someone much better had arrived. That person was Gardenia. Her skills are formidable, and I humbly bow to her superiority."*